Ryan Kwanten Interviewed by NextMovie.com

Ryan Talks About His Movie Career… And Panthers

Ryan Kwanten has been very busy recently promoting his new movie Red Hill. In many of the interviews, he’s been questioned about playing a cop, since in True Blood, his character Jason Stackhouse dreams of becoming a full police officer. That’s only one connection between Ryan’s new movie and the show that introduced him to an American audience. In an interview with NextMovie.com, Ryan talked about the path his career has taken, his love of the Western genre, and panthers, amongst many other things.

Ryan openly admits that he’s a huge fan of Westerns, and he agrees with descriptions of Red Hill as being a Western, but with a twist. After all, the hero of most Westerns is a gunslinger, but his character is the opposite. In fact, Ryan shared that there’s a scene in the movie in which his character actually forgot his gun! There’s more to a Western than the gunslinger though. Ryan described the genre as being about good vs evil, having a theme of revenge, and having an iconic hero that can win, even against impenetrable odds.

Still, Ryan’s character in Red Hills isn’t the iconic hero of Westerns from the past. Instead, he found his part more appealing because of the character’s tortured past and soul. This role, in many ways, is a complete departure from the lovable Jason Stackhouse. Thanks to that role and the popularity of True Blood, Ryan says that he can now:

“[Move] into making choices that challenge me. Nothing can be more uninspiring than choosing films that are very similar to True Blood or characters exactly like Jason. I’m trying to do films that are a total departure.

I’m Charles Manson in a film next year, producing that too, with the same guy who wrote “The Machinist” writing and directing it. I’m producing another film as well.”

Ryan’s upcoming work will also give him a chance to practice new accents. That’s one thing he really enjoys, because Ryan prefers playing characters who don’t have an Australian accent. He says:

I take great pride in immersing myself in whatever accent I was doing out here. I’ve done everything from Boston accents, to Mississippi, to Louisiana to West Texas, all sorts.

That’s just one skill Ryan can use to his advantage. He also can claim to be the “go-to guy” when it comes to having panthers in movies because he’s worked with them in both Red Hill and True Blood. (It actually turns out that Red Hill had the panthers before True Blood did.)

Ryan shared even more details about his work as an actor in his interview with NextMovie.com, so check out the rest of the interview here.

Submission thanks to: Andie

Got a True Blood related tip? Submit it here! Just select the Subject drop down ‘Contribution Request’ and send us your news item!